The Thickness of Water
by GrissleMcThornbody
Summary: After the horrific murder of Inuyasha, Kagome must flee with their child to find refuge, but who would accept their child? Akitoki Hojo, thought he could never love again after the loss of his wife, but how then could he possibly find an heir? When their lives cross in an odd twist of fate and karma, will these two past friends be able to heal each others wounds? AkitokixKagome
1. Chapter 1

Life never works out how we expect it to.

Flames enveloped the hut where the young couple had spent the last six years of their lives. In the center, among a pile of burning beams, lay the lifeless body of a long black haired man in red robes. A white haired child wailed in her mother's shaking arms. Above them a massive winged demon let out a hefty laugh.

"This is exactly why half demons are weak," he sneered.

"Lady Kagome Run!" a voice trumpeted through the smoke.

The woman looked to the bow and quiver in the corner then to the child in her arms; it would be too risky to shoot. But her mind was also filled with sorrow and rage.

"Run!" the voice cried again as a large orange half-demon crashed through the wall. "Get out of here!"

Her feet took her before her mind could. To the corner, then out the door. The bow and quiver were gripped tightly in one arm, the wailing child in the other.

The woman awoke with a scream.

Her husband sat beside her, his silver hair gleaming in the moonlight.

"What is it Kagome?" he asked. His yellow eyes were full of worry.

"Nothing," she whispered. "It's just the night of the new moon is approaching."

Her husband held her tight against his chest and stroked her hair.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll never leave you alone for good… I promise."

* * *

><p>Lord Akitoki Hojo sat cross legged among his advisors. His brown hair was tied in a smooth topknot beneath a scholars cap. He stroked his mustache pensively.<p>

"My lord you have no heir," a fat and wrinkled old man sputtered. "If this persists any longer we may have to consider you being derelict in your duties."

Akitoki sighed and rubbed his forehead. Things had been quite difficult since his wife had passed away. Even years later, he could not shake the emptiness in his heart. No woman seemed to move him. It was as if something had died along with her.

"Oh my sweet Kagome," he whispered.

"This is exactly the problem," a wispy retainer grumbled. His eyes met the young lord's, full of what seemed to be concern. "My Lord, you need a new wife."

The other retainers nodded.

"Send us out," the thin man continued. "Accept an arrangement. It matters not if you love her at first sight; you will grow to love her."

Akitoki lolled his head to the side with another sigh and looked the man over.

"Munoto?" he said.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Have I ever struck you as that kind of man?" the lord asked.

The older man looked up, clearly distressed by the question. He looked to the other vassals who simple bowed their heads, averting their eyes. He bowed low.

"No my lord," he murmured.

Akitoki pursed his lips at the man's pained expression. He may have spoken harshly to them on occasion, but they were his people, and he did love them. He put on a meek smile.

"I will try," he said. "Go out and find whatever woman you think best. I will try to accept her."

The wispy vassal's face lit up. "Thank you my lord! We shall set forth immediately."

Akitoki raised one hand, halting the men's exit. His retainers gave a questioning stare.

"Wait until tomorrow… It is too dangerous on the night of the new moon."

* * *

><p>Kagome panted as she descended the mountain. Branches whipped her in the face, drawing blood, but it did not matter as long as the child clutched to her chest was safe. Rocks clattered down a steep hill face as she slid down it into the bushes below.<p>

She looked above her. She could not see it, but she could feel the demonic presence slowly drawing nearer. She placed the child on the ground beside her and began to notch and arrow.

The little silver haired girl stood, rubbing her eyes.

"Mommy what's wrong?" she mumbled.

Kagome looked at her, wide eyed, but then remembered her composure. She smiled and lifted a finger to her lips until the little girl mimicked her. Then she nodded and pulled the arrow back to her ear, poised to shoot.

Branches crackled as the demonic presence approached. Kagome took a deep breath.

"I still smell a half breed," a deep voice hissed. The ghastly creature came into view, elongated snout combing the air. "Now if only I could find it."

In that instant a surge of rage flew through Kagome. Her arrow loosed.

A streak of purple lightning shot through the air, piercing the demons head with an ugly crack. The beast began to disintegrate and Kogame grabbed the small child and once again began to flee.

"Mommy where's daddy?" the little girl wailed, as they ran. "We're leaving him behind!"

Tears threatened Kagome's already weak vision in the depths of this dark night. She bit her lip, trying to fight them back with the physical pain.

"Why can't I smell daddy?" the girl cried.

"Quiet, Kikyo," Kagome whispered. "There's no time right now…"

"But I can't smell him…" the girl sobbed.

"I know baby," the woman stammered. "I know…"

* * *

><p>Two days into their journey, Munoto and his men still were having hard luck finding a bride suitable for their Lord Akitoki. They had searched three separate villages; all turned them away saying there were no eligible ladies.<p>

Munoto Kamioka sighed. He never would have suspected they would have such trouble. Perhaps the bad luck had not left the Hojo family. Not only had they been turned away at every stop, but rumor had it that there had been a startling increase in the number of demon attacks ever since the night of the new moon. In fact, they had passed three ruins just that morning as they trekked through the mountains to the next village.

As they entered the home stretch, Munoto found himself sitting curiously forward on his mount; there seemed to be a great deal of commotion coming from the village. As he rounded the bend, he spotted it: a large crowd had formed and seemed to be lobbing stones.

"My good people!" he yelled, voice nearly giving out in a crack. Their eyes were all suddenly fixed on him. He smiled and waved, but their attention was once again on the huddled mass in the middle of the mob.

Munoto approached, pleased with how easily his old age could part even the angriest mass of people. "Why is it that you all throw stones?"

"Demons," a young man answered simply.

_So this is the demon that has been causing the damage_, the old man mused.

Then the huddled figure looked up.

It was a beautiful woman with long black hair and wild bangs. Despite the blood on her face, her eyes were not those of a monster, but those of a saint. Munoto could not help but be shocked as the words slipped out of him.

"Lady Kagome?"

The woman's eyes flew wide, in some sort of shocked recognition. Her mouth dropped open, eyes pooling with tears.

"Please help me…"


	2. Chapter 2

Once Munoto had brought the woman and the child that was apparently with her inside, he felt he could see things much clearer. Although bloody and tattered, the woman was clearly wearing a shrine maiden's garb. Her hair, though once bound, had come loose during one of her ordeals. By her side, a child around the age of three or four with unnatural silver hair stood wearing a similar outfit.

The two sat before Munoto. The woman was stoic; the girl watched her.

"Lady Kagome," the old man said. "You are her right?"

She didn't flinch at all.

"I am Kagome," she replied.

Munoto motioned for food to be brought before them. He could see the little one eye the food greedily, but one motion from the woman stopped her from grabbing the fish from the tray. The man looked at the woman who was eyeing him cautiously.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said. "But I don't remember you. Have we met before?"

He could see from the look in her eyes that she was serious.

"My name is Munoto," he stated slowly. "I work for Lord Akitoki Hojo. Can you remember him?"

Kagome's eyes lit up. She nodded, a slight smile gracing her lips. She then nodded to the child who began stuffing her face with fish.

"Is he here?" the woman asked, clearly a lot more relaxed.

"It's truly a miracle," the old man breathed. "You came back from hell."

Kagome looked at the little girl and stroked her head. Her eyes were distant. Then she turned back to him, a fire suddenly lit in those brown eyes.

"Can you take us to him?" she asked.

Akitoki leapt from his seat.

"What?"

The attendant beamed. "Lady Kagome has come back from her journey to the underworld and has brought the lost child with her!"

Akitoki was now pacing frantically. He felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Only one question was on his mind.

"How is that possible?" he wondered.

When his wife had claimed her own life, he had assumed that the reason could be no other one than grief, but could it be possible that she possessed some sort of knowledge he did not about the afterlife? None of this was adding up.

"It's true lord. I swear," the servant cried. "I saw her with my own eyes, enter through the palace gates with the child."

Akitoki's eyes grew wide. The wrinkles on his forehead were now deep canyons. He wetted his suddenly dry lips.

"She's here?"

"My Lord," came Munoto's call from the behind the hall doors, causing Akitoki to whip around. "I have brought the Lady Kagome and her child."

The lord straightened up, brushing off his robes and praying to retain some form of composure.

"You may enter," he called, and the doors slid open.

Akitoki's breath caught. Standing before him was indeed a beautiful woman, but it was not his former wife. This woman's skin was slightly fairer, and her eyelashes were thick and dark. He did not need the woman's miko garb to clue him in as to who she was; the child's looks said it all.

However, this Kagome, the Kagome that he had met so many years ago, was not the same as before. Her eyes were glassy, and her expression was subdued. No doubt, she had been through something horrible.

"Lady Kagome…" he whispered, before rushing to her side. She weakly smiled at him as he took her hand in his.

"How are you, Hojo-kun?" She said with a forced cheerfulness that made Akitoki's skin crawl. "It's been a long time"

"Indeed it has," he said. "But tell me Kagome, why is Inuyasha not with you?"

He could see Kagome flinch for a second, but she quickly averted her gaze. No words were needed. There was no way that Inuyasha would willingly leave Kagome, especially if the two had a child together, which left only one suspicion. But how could that be? Akitoki was sure that Inuyasha was more than capable of fending off any demon with the power of his tetsaiga.

At this point Munoto was looking questioningly between the two of them. Akitoki took a deep breath and turned to the older man.

"It appears you have made mistake Munoto," he sighed. The old man stiffened up. "This Kagome is not my dear wife at all, but rather an old friend to whom I owe much."

Munoto's expression was one of disbelief. "Sire?"

"It's quite the twist of fate," the lord continued. "Go and prepare a room for her, and make sure her daughter is well fed."

Kagome looked up at him, eyes full of shock.

"It is alright with you if they take her to the kitchen correct?" he said. "I promise she will be well guarded."

The woman glanced at the child who was brushing her foot repeatedly across the wood floor then back up at the lord and nodded.

Once the child had been escorted away by Munoto, Akitoki ordered all the others to leave him and Kagome alone. As the two stood, a quiet minute passed before he was able to muster up the courage to ask his next question.

"What happened to Inuyasha?" he stated solemnly.

The woman's eyes began to pool with water as she stared off into the distance. She roughly wiped them away and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I couldn't stop them," Kagome whimpered. "The night of the new moon… We didn't sense them at all. And he…" She suddenly began weeping openly, hands clasped firmly over her mouth. She sank to the floor. "Inuyasha."

So he was right: Inuyasha had been slain. From the condition the woman was in, she must have been suffering with her child alone. He knelt down beside her and began gently patting her back. He wasn't sure what else he could do for her, but he wanted to help any way he could. He knew that if it had not been for Kagome and Inuyasha, he would probably have died a long time ago.

The woman sniffled and looked Akitoki directly in the eyes.

"Please give me a horse," she said. "I must get a hold of Sango, Muroku, and Kaede."

"I will send messengers in the morning," he assured her.

She shook her head. "I need to go."

She began to stand, but the lord grabbed her shoulder, keeping her eye level with him. Her face told him that she was beginning to get angry.

"It is too dangerous," he pleaded. "How are you going to defend your child if you get mobbed by demons?"

She struggled away from him, tears pouring down her face. Her eyes closed as she stood.

"Sit-!"

She staggered, eyes suddenly open. As she stared at him, Akitoki could see the pain she carried inside her heart. She gasped. Her eyes grew distant and, as if a spell had come over her, Kagome fainted.


End file.
